FFA under pressure to intervene in misconduct scandal
Taxation lawyer Aldrin De Zilva, last year petitioned the board to overturn the finding against him.As soccer counts down to the A-League finals series and the start of metropolitan and country competitions across Australia, the sport’s governing body is under increasing pressure to intervene in a scandal engulfing its Victorian federation.
Sports lawyers have withdrawn their services from the Football Federation Victoria Disciplinary and Appeals Tribunal, a volunteer panel that deals with serious issues such as crowd violence and racism, as well as on-field incidents.
The unprecedented boycott is a stance against the FFV board’s decision to render null and void a tribunal finding of misconduct against a former director accused of verbally abusing a teenage girl refereeing a 2014 junior match and a subsequent failure to explain its actions.
The former director, taxation lawyer Aldrin De Zilva, last year petitioned the board to overturn the finding against him and a two-year ban from attending games after his one-time political ally, former Socceroo Kimon Taliadoros, was elected as FFV president.
The board’s handling of the issue prompted the resignation of three board directors; finance and governance executive Sandra Lordanic, local government director Tammi Rose and legal adviser and former Matilda Tal Karp. The FFV’s then acting chief executive, Cathy Acocks, also quit.
In response to questions by The Weekend Australian, Taliadoros yesterday denied the tribunal decision was ever overturned. He said the board was threatened with legal action by De Zilva and had reached a settlement that did not interfere with the tribunal’s decision. He said the finding against De Zilva still stood.
“The tribunal’s decision stands and its sanctions have been implemented in full,’’ Taliadoros said. “The independence of the tribunal is a paramount consideration for FFV. The board believes that once all facts are fully appreciated, those parties who have previously raised concerns will respect the actions taken.’’
Taliadoros’s statement is at odds with the understanding of the directors who quit the board, the wording of a formal deed of settlement signed between Taliadoros and De Zilva last October and De Zilva’s belief that the finding against him had been quashed.
“The statement by Mr Taliadoros is totally inconsistent with and contrary to the formal apology I received from the FFV board and my understanding of the terms of the settlement deed with the FFV,’’ De Zilva said last night. “The formal apology I received from the FFV states that the FFV Tribunal decision was ‘null and void from the outset’.
“I have been the subject of death threats during the course of my tenure on the FFV board well before being subject to the farcical misconduct claims, which I have vehemently refuted, and the tribunal process which has been overturned. I find it gravely disturbing that this pointless persecution continues from a morally deficient organisation.’’
De Zilva did not appeal against his case to either the FFV appeals board or the FFA tribunal. Instead, he presented the board with a legal opinion from barrister Adrian Anderson that he was denied a fair hearing before the FFV tribunal.
A settlement was negotiated between Taliadoros and De Zilva without further reference to the tribunal or the teenage referee.
Lordanic and Rose confirmed to The Weekend Australian they quit the board because of its interference in the De Zilva case.
“The board’s governance and decision-making processes continued to be inconsistent with our expectations,’’ they said in a joint statement. “We resigned after the board invalidated the findings of a tribunal decision which, in our view, has wider consequences for the sport.’’
Acocks said she resigned from the board “due to, in my view, a lack of governance practices and the decision taken by the board on a tribunal matter’’.
FFV appeals board chairman Anthony Nolan QC said the handling of the De Zilva case went to the “heart of governance’’ at an organisation responsible for providing a fair and safe playing field for about 60,000 junior soccer players in the state.
He said the decision by lawyers to withdraw their services from the tribunal had been taken in “extreme’’ circumstances.
“What is the point of volunteering their time and labour to help the FFV in circumstances where the FFV board can just make its own decision and ride roughshod over the tribunal without following its own protocols and procedures for disciplinary matters?’’ Nolan said.
The sports law section of the Victorian Bar first wrote to the FFV in November last year raising its concerns about the independence of the FFV tribunal and requesting an explanation for why the tribunal finding against De Zilva was apparently overturned.
After the FFV declined to respond substantively, the sports law section last month wrote back to the FFV to say that due to its significant concerns about the case, it was “unable to continue to endorse and supports its members providing pro bono assistance to the FFV’’.
Lawyer Ben Ihle has resigned from the FFV tribunal. A further six lawyers are refusing to sit on the tribunal in the absence of further explanation from the FFV board. It is expected some lawyers will continue to sit on the tribunal.
Legal sources said yesterday’s public statements from Taliadoros raised more questions about the governance of the FFV.
The Weekend Australian understands FFA chief executive David Gallop is being briefed on the developing scandal and has asked the FFV to explain its conduct. FFA has broad powers to intervene in the affairs of state federations and where justified, suspend membership from the FFA.
The FFV’s actions are also being scrutinised by Victoria’s Sports Minister John Eren, who has referred the matter to Sport and Recreation Victoria, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.
The FFV is seeking state government funding for a proposed, $17 million redevelopment of the State Football Centre in Melbourne’s eastern suburb of Thornbury. It is unlikely that any government money will be allocated until the issues raised by the De Zilva case are resolved.
Taliadoros said the FFV had provided explanations to Eren and the Department of Heath and Human Services and “will continue to work with those who may have unresolved concerns’’.
Taliadoros, a former player, coach and broadcaster, and De Zilva, a director and Melbourne office head of law firm Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills, stood down from the board in 2014 after De Zilva was charged with misconduct, citing accounting irregularities as their reason for quitting.
The FFV’s accounts were subsequently examined by Consumer Affairs Victoria, which found no evidence of irregularities.
Taliadoros was re-elected as a director and made chairman in 2015 following fresh board elections. The FFV is conducting elections to replace the board members who stood down last October. Current chief executive Maxwell Grattan is the eighth CEO in four years.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/football/ffa-under-pressure-to-intervene-in-misconduct-scandal/news-story/37b01341f34f9f51778a0c657e4ef2ad